Diverted highway traffic causing congestion in Bethora and Dabal

30 Jun 201805:45am IST

30 Jun 201805:45am IST

Traffic was diverted following landslide at Kerya; Bethora sarpanch calls for widening village roads to cope with traffic diversion in times of emergency

Team Herald

PONDA: The traffic diversion following the landslide on Monday on National Highway at Kerya in Khandepar has slowed down the movement of vehicles and is causing frequent congestion on internal roads at Kodar, Nirankal, Bethora, Dabal and Dharbandora.

Following the landslide at Kerya, to felicitate clearing of debris and to cut down the vertical cliff, the South Goa Collector by an order diverted the traffic proceeding towards Ponda from Kodar, Nirankal and Bethora; while the traffic from Ponda to Belgaum was diverted via Nirankal, Dabal and Dharbandora.

Due to this traffic diversion, the narrow roads in these villages are taking extra traffic resulting in frequent traffic congestion and consequently slowing down the traffic.

The distance between Kerya in Khandepar and Ponda is just five kilometres, but due to road diversion, Khandepar and Usgao locals are forced travel through Bethora by travelling 15 kms extra.

Consequently, instead of spending Rs 10, they are now spending Rs 20 to Rs 30 for travelling to Ponda. Besides, the students and daily commuters have to wait at Khandepar Opa Junction for long hours for buses.

Bethora Sarpanch Sushant Gaonkar said that due to traffic diversion, the local roads are witnessing extra pressure leading to frequent traffic congestion which is causing hardship to the commuters.

“Our roads are too narrow and only two vehicles can pass at a time. After the landslide, not only local traffic is proceeding through Kodar, but also highway traffic is diverted through our village; more than fifty percent of national highway traffic has been diverted through our village. As a result, there is frequent congestion on our roads,” Gaonkar said.

The sarpanch informed that in the past, the Bethora villagers had demanded widening of road in the village as the national highway traffic could be diverted through their village in time of emergency like a major accident and landslides. However, he lamented that the authorities did not pay heed to their demand.

“Since an emergency has occurred in the form of a landslide and due to which the traffic has been diverted through our village, the PWD should seriously consider widening the narrow roads in Bethora, so that the commuters are not put to hardship when emergencies occur in future,” Gaonkar demanded.